


The Orchard

by Palefire73



Series: Prisoners. The Chronicles of Loki and Erika [5]
Category: Loki - Fandom, Marvel, Norse Gods - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Reality, F/M, Fun, Humour, Loki Gets Tricked, Love, Messing about, Romance, trickery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 12:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11036253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: Loki's farm includes a few orchards containing a variety of fruit trees. Erika has discovered that one of them contains cider apple trees and is very excited about it...





	The Orchard

“There are so many trees Loki and the fruit which has set is very successful this year.” Erika pulled on Loki’s hand as she led him up to the gate of the huge orchard, which was the one nearest the house, and pointed to the apple trees within, all of which were quite mature. Even though The Vision had convinced Loki that he had already spent weeks here at the small holding and that he had diligently removed the weaker infant fruits as they had appeared, along with any which had succumbed to disease or insect damage, the ripening apples were still abundant and it was clear to see that there would be a prolonged and generous harvest. “There are different varieties, so we will have plenty for eating, baking and preserving, but I am reasonably sure that the ones over towards the tree line are cider apples! I came here yesterday to have a look and they look like the ones that I used to help my grandfather harvest back on his farm when I was a child.”

 

Loki looked at Erika amusedly; she seemed to be excited by the prospect of having discovered that they were going to have the means to produce the sparkling alcoholic beverage! He was proud of the harvest they were going to get and he could not be happier now that he had someone here to share in it with him.

 

“Show me the trees.” He said, and was immediately pulled through the gate to walk at quite a fast pace for the relatively smaller young woman as she took him across the orchard. He reached up to pick a delicious-looking apple from one of the trees as they passed and delighted in crunching into the sweet flesh as Erika continued to drag him along; apples were his favourite fruit and to be able to eat them straight off the tree was a treat he had always enjoyed. Having made their way across the very big orchard, they eventually came across some trees dominating the far corner which was very close to the woods and he knew they were definitely the right ones. They must also be prized trees for they were obviously of a good age and had been well looked after by their previous owners; their gnarled branches looked free of disease and had been pruned in such a fashion as to allow good air flow over the fruits which were now ripening on them. They both examined the lower branches to see what condition the fruit was in and found that they were very well developed and plentiful.

 

“Shall we see if they are ready?” He asked, and Erika nodded.

“No time like the present,” She replied, pulling out a gardening knife, “You pick one and we can both taste it to see what we think.” Of course, cider apples were not the most palatable of fruits, but if the flavour was right, then they needed to be harvested and pressed so that the cider would be at its best. Loki chose a particularly nicely rounded and colourful fruit and twisted it carefully so it would come away from the tree in the proper fashion. The stalk broke away cleanly and he brought it down so Erika could look at it and she smiled, lighting up that beautiful face of hers. Loki suddenly found himself captivated by her, as he often did when she did little unconscious things like that, and he pulled her close.

“A kiss for the apple, sweet maiden!” He said and bent his head towards her.

“Of course, my lord.” She replied happily; their lips met as the apple and all ideas of making cider with it were forgotten in the moment of a tender kiss. He went to pull away from her, but she whispered “I believe it is worth a little more than that!” and kissed him again, a little more passionately than with the first, before eventually moving back a bit and smoothing back her hair in an almost shy fashion before holding out her hand, “The apple, if you please?” Although they had shared many close moments like this, Loki had retained a respectful distance from her since she had got here and she had not made an effort to take things between them any further. For some reason, it felt as though they were getting to know each other all over again and it was – for the moment – suiting the both of them just fine. However, it did not mean that they were completely unaffected each time they touched or kissed, and Erika felt it would not be long until one of them finally made the first move. But now did not feel like the right time and she waggled her fingers impatiently.

“Of course…” Said Loki a little distractedly, as he struggled to come back down to Asgard and she sliced into the crisp flesh to reveal a blemish-free juicy fruit. She handed a piece to Loki, who was still thinking about how her lips had felt on his, and took another for herself before looking at him.

“On the count of three?” She asked. Cider apples were rather tart and they both knew that they were only doing this to check the acidity and general flavour underneath.

“On three…” Agreed Loki, “One, two, three!”

 

The face Loki pulled as he chewed the very tart yet flavoursome fruit was hilarious and Erika stood there laughing at him as she held up her piece of untouched apple. He screwed his handsome face up almost in disgust at the acidic juice which had flooded his mouth and bent to one side to spit it out as the young Asgardian continued to giggle mischievously.

“Are they ready, Loki?” The words were almost said in a serious fashion, but then he turned towards her and she burst out laughing again at his expression, “Oh, Loki, you are so funny when I manage to trick you, of all people!”

“What do you mean, ‘ _of all people’_?” Asked Loki, wiping his mouth with a soft cream handkerchief. Erika threw her piece of apple to the ground and came over to help him, smiling lovingly at him as she took the cloth and wiped his thin lips.

“Well, you used to be famous for your trickery, did you not?” She replied warily, suddenly realising she needed to tread carefully with her response; the warnings had been clear to avoid discussing too much of his history. Fortunately, Loki simply grinned and wrapped his arms around her, scooping her up and lifting her onto the dry stone wall which bordered the orchard at this end of the field. “Yes, I did, but that is now behind me and in any case… I seem to have a rival in that regard…” He raised a quizzical eyebrow and put on a mock-stern face, whereupon Erika responded with a remorseful expression. “I apologise, Loki. It was mean of me to deceive you into trying the apple alone… however will I make amends?”

“Well…” Loki moved towards the wall to hold her and leaned in for another kiss, but it was now Erika’s turn to pull a face as she tasted the bitter fruit on Loki’s lips. She pushed him away as she wrinkled her nose in disgust and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Ew! Loki, that was horrible!” She groaned.

 

Smiling mischievously, Loki lifted her from the wall and lowered her to the ground so he could hold her hand and lead her back to the farm buildings.

 

“Never try to trick a Trickster!” He laughed, and they set off to fetch a cart for the apples.

**Author's Note:**

> I love playing tricks on Loki.  
> *hides* (Hope he doesn't take revenge!)


End file.
